Well, if you would turn with me back a bit in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles, we’ll be in chapter 25. You’ll find that on page 377 in your pew Bibles. And there’s actually a connection between Psalm 137 and 2 Chronicles 25. There are a few things that stand out in my mind about Psalm 137, which we just read. On a lighter note, one is the 1978 release of the song, “Rivers of Babylon,” by the German Caribbean disco funk band called, Boney M. Now if you were listening to Charlie read Psalm 137 and thought, “That would sound really good in a German Caribbean disco funk rendition,” then you’re not the first one to think that! And if you’ve never heard Boney M.’s rendition of Psalm 137, it’s worth a watch on YouTube later this afternoon. You’ll probably be singing it in your head tomorrow morning and you can thank me for that!
The second thing that stands out about Psalm 137 is what Charlie mentioned. What sticks out to most of us is that last verse. We think, “What do we make of this?” It disturbs us. What do we make of the violence and the gore? What do we make of this in light of the message of God’s love and grace in Christ Jesus? And it’s not always easy for us to grasp it, is it? To grasp God’s judgment and the severity of God’s judgment, especially as we find it in the pages of the Old Testament. But the shock and the awe of those verses are part of the point. God’s judgment is shocking and awful. It calls for repentance. It calls for a turning to God for mercy. You see, the descriptions of God’s wrath inflicted in the Old Testament age show us what our sins deserve and they show us what punishment Jesus took on the cross and they warn us of an even greater judgment to come. Those are the things that Charlie just reminded us of.
And the passage that we’re looking at this morning is one of those passages that contains shocking and disturbing descriptions of God’s judgment on the enemies of God’s people. And we’re not going to read all the way down to the battle scene that we find in 2 Chronicles 25, but verse 12 talks about how the men of Judah captured the men of Edom, took them up to the top of a rock, and threw them down and they were all dashed to pieces. I won’t go into all the details of the history of Israel that went into those verses and that went into that response, but this is the retributive justice of God against the people of Seir before the coming of Jesus Christ.
And yet it’s even in a chapter like that, a battle scene chapter like 2 Chronicles chapter 25, that we find a lesson that we need to hear. We find a lesson that we need to hear about God’s goodness and about His call to us to faithful commitment to Him. One of the commentators on the book of Chronicles, he said that, “One of the delights of reading this book is frequency with which we are struck with the treasures of God’s Word and that we find springing from these pages words that we remember well from sermons and from hymns and from liturgies and we think to ourselves, ‘Oh, that’s where that comes from.’” Places like 2 Chronicles chapter 7:14, “If My people, who are called by My name, humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will forgive their land.” Or places like 2 Chronicles 14:11, “Help us, O LORD, our God, we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.” Or 2 Chronicles 20:12, “O, our God, we are powerless and we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” And there are other places like that in 2 Chronicles. And chapter 25 verse 9 is another one of those places. It’s another one of those places that we can underline in our Bibles and go back to from time to time for encouragement in living the Christian life.
And there are two things that I want us to see from this passage this morning. I want us to see, one, an abundance of caution, and then secondly, an abundance of riches. Those will be our two points – an abundance of caution and an abundance of riches. Before we read God’s Word, let’s pray and ask for His help in our understanding and application to all of our lives. Let’s pray.
Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the places that are difficult and we thank You for the places that are encouraging and memorable to us. We give You thanks that all Your Scripture is breathed out by You and is useful for teaching and rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. We thank You that all Scripture points to Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior, and to the blessings that are found in the Gospel. And so we ask that You would direct our eyes that way this morning. Speak Lord, for Your servants listen. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name, amen.
2 Chronicles 25, starting in verse 5:
“Then Amaziah assembled the men of Judah and set them by fathers’ houses under commanders of thousands and of hundreds for all Judah and Benjamin. He mustered those twenty years old and upward, and found that they were 300,000 choice men, fit for war, able to handle spear and shield. He hired also 100,000 mighty men of valor from Israel for 100 talents of silver. But a man of God came to him and said, ‘O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites. But go, act, be strong for the battle. Why should you suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy? For God has power to help or to cast down.’ And Amaziah said to the man of God, ‘But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?’ The man of God answered, ‘The Lord is able to give you much more than this.’ Then Amaziah discharged the army that had come to him from Ephraim to go home again. And they became very angry with Judah and returned home in fierce anger.”
The grass withers and the flowers fall but the Word of our God endures forever.
“What shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God said, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” Amaziah’s question was asked out of an abundance of caution. “An abundance of caution” is a phrase that you may remember we heard a great deal back during the pandemic. “Out of an abundance of caution, so and so is shut down.” According to the Cambridge dictionary, “an abundance of caution” means “to be extremely careful to avoid a particular risk, even if the risk is small.” Well for Amaziah, the risk was him losing these 100 talents of silver that he had given to the mercenary army of the people of Israel.
But you see, Amaziah’s question also displayed something of his half-hearted devotion to the Lord. Amaziah, you see, was the king of Judah. You remember, the kingdom had divided into two parts after the reign of Solomon. There was Israel in the north that was founded upon the idolatrous worship that had been established by their king, Jeroboam. And then there was Judah in the south, inconsistent, but still maintaining something of the true worship of God as it had been established in the temple in Jerusalem. And in these verses, it’s clearly stated that the Lord was no longer with Israel as He was with Judah. But Amaziah was like so many of the kings of Judah. He was a complicated mix of both faithfulness on the one hand and disobedience on the other. If we were to look back at verse 2 in this chapter, it tells us that “Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.” Not with a whole heart. He was half-hearted in his devotion to God and his half-heartedness shows up in the verses that we just read. For one thing, he went out against the people of Seir to battle, he did not trust the army that the Lord had provided for him, and he did not think anything of making an alliance with the idolatrous people of Israel. He didn’t even seek the Lord before he made his plans. And yet, when he went out and when the man of God came to him and rebuked him and told him not to take the army of Israel with him, what did he say? He said this comment, this question, which is really at the heart of the matter in this whole story. In verse 9 he says, “But what shall we do about the 100 talents of silver that I have given to the army of Israel?” His first concern when hearing the word from the man of God is about the 100 talents of silver.
In our house, we’ve been in campus visit season for a couple of years now. And one of the things that I’ve learned, at least when it comes to Ole Miss and State, is that State has an unfair advantage when it comes to recruiting videos. And here’s why. It’s because strength for strength, it’s hard to match images of students taking care of puppies and building rockets with images of students studying accounting. Puppies and rockets wins every time. It just does! It’s an uphill battle! And accounting just doesn’t seem very exciting – no offense to the accountants out there! Well this passage, at least the part that we read, is an accounting passage. It’s a passage about profit and loss, about risk and reward, about assets and liabilities. And while that may not sound as exciting as the battle scene, I think it actually provides us a glimpse into many of our own hearts as it relates to God’s call to faithfulness in our lives.
You see, Amaziah had paid these 100 talents of silver to the men of Israel. A talent, or 100 talents, weighed over 3 tons. Now today, that would be worth over $2.3 million dollars. But you have to remember, as recently as Solomon’s reign in Jerusalem, silver had not been considered anything. We’re told that “silver was as common in those days as stones.” And so we can’t say exactly how much this silver was worth in Amaziah’s day, but whatever the case, whatever the value, Amaziah didn’t want to part with his silver for nothing. He didn’t want it to go unaccounted. He didn’t want it to go to waste. But if he did what the man of God told him to do, then he would be paying out all that silver for nothing in return. It would be a total loss to him, and not to mention if he let the men of Israel go, then he would be much more vulnerable in battle, wouldn’t he? He would be much more at risk of losing valuable men and resources, much more at risk of losing out on the spoils of battle that would have been in his sights. This made no sense financially, and militarily it was a huge risk, but this was the message from God. Verse 7, “Do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel.”
The question then was, “Would Amaziah give up those 100 talents of silver for the sake of obedience to God’s Word? Would Amaziah trust that the Lord was with him and that the Lord had power to help or to cast down?” In other words, “What was Amaziah willing to give up, what was he willing to risk for the sake of wholehearted faithfulness and devotion to God?” “What shall I do about the 100 talents of silver?” I wonder if we ask questions like that. What is it that’s preventing us from a wholehearted service to the Lord? Maybe there’s something that’s keeping someone here today from turning over their lives to Christ in faith for the first time. What is it? What is it that is preventing you from doing that today?
Augustine was one of the church fathers who lived in North Africa in the 4th century and he had somewhat of a checkered past. He tells the story from his youth about how he and some of his friends broke into a pear orchard of someone and they took the pears and they didn’t steal them because they were hungry or they wanted to eat them; they stole them and they threw them down and destroyed them just for the sake, just for the fun of doing something forbidden. We’re told about Augustine that he lived with the mother of his son for many years before they parted ways, and there’s a section in his confession, or his autobiography where he writes about his “wretched youth,” as he calls it, and about how he wanted wisdom but he struggled with lust and worldliness. And at one point, he prayed this to God; he said, “Grant me chastity and self restraint, but not yet.” Give me chastity and self restraint, but not yet. He wanted to be helped, he wanted to be changed, but just not yet.
And that prayer can have a familiar ring to it, can’t it? “I want to believe, but not yet. And I want to follow Jesus, but what about giving up the freedom to do the things that I want to do?” And even in the Christian life we can struggle with torn allegiances, can’t we? We know that God is calling us to a different lifestyle from our peers, “But what would that do about my reputation? What about my popularity? What about my social status?” And we know what God’s Word says about indulging our senses and giving in to temptation, whether it’s with sex or drink or whatever it may be, and yet we ask, “What about the pleasures that those things bring to me?” We want to be content, we want to be generous with our money, we want to give to the mission of the Gospel, but “What about all the things that I could do with a little bit more in my bank account?” Well maybe it’s been faithful about keeping the Sabbath as God has commanded us. “And what will that mean for my child’s athletic success? What will that mean with the time to participate in the hobbies that I want to participate in?” Think about all the things that we may be afraid to give up for the sake of wholehearted devotion to God, the things that are holding us back from serving Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. “What shall we do about the 100 talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” It’s the same question.
And here’s the answer. Verse 9, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” You see, the answer to abundance of caution that is found in Amaziah’s question is a reminder of the abundance of riches that are found in the goodness of God. And in our own call to be devoted to God, let us never forget, secondly, the abundance of riches. The abundance of His riches. “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.”
I saw a clip the other day of two NFL quarterbacks having a conversation. These were all-pro, MVP, max contract type quarterbacks. And one of them was saying to the other how he had reserved a place to stay in the Superbowl city several months before he had any idea whether he would be in the Superbowl or not. And the reason that he had reserved it so early was so that he could take advantage of the rates when they were lower before they had risen around the time of the Superbowl. He didn’t want the rates to get so high. And that makes sense, on a certain level, doesn’t it? But also, really? This is someone who could afford to pay the higher rates. Surely that would not be that big of a deal to this quarterback to play a little extra for the place to stay. One hundred talents of silver is nothing to the Lord. The Lord is able to repay more than the 100 talents of silver. The Lord is able to prosper so much more than any debt retirement calculator or any investment strategy could ever predict. And even those benefits that we often associate with money, things like security, freedom, happiness, satisfaction – even all of those things, we could have more money than we know what to do with, but only the Lord can provide those things to us. And you know what? The Lord can provide those things to us with little money or with much. Only the Lord can do that. God has the power to help or to cast down. “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.”
This is not seminary level theology right here. This is not doctrines of eschatology. These are not views of the millennium. This is first page of the Bible type stuff – that God made all things and what God made is good because God is good. I think it says something to us that this message from the man of God comes from an unnamed prophet. This isn’t coming to us from Elijah or Elisha; it’s not coming from Isaiah or Jeremiah. This is not some big, impressive message. This is coming from this simple, unknown, unnamed man of God who’s saying, “Remember the goodness of God. Remember the greatness of God. Remember that God is able to give you so much more than this.”
I was visiting with one of our members a couple of weeks ago who is going through some hard things. And she taught Sunday School in our children’s Sunday School for decades here at the church. And what I said to her was what she had taught to our children so many times. “He’s got the whole world in His hands. He’s got you and me, sister, in His hands.” Those are simple messages. God can handle the setbacks. He can handle the disappointments that we face. He can provide so much more than we ever expected. He can provide more love than any rejection that we may face for following Christ wholeheartedly. He can provide so much more enjoyment and delight than any of the worldly pleasures that we could ever pursue. He could provide more blessing than any amount of money, than any amount of fame, than any amount of leisure. “The Lord is able to provide so much more than this.”
Now doesn’t that make us want to reevaluate what we value? Doesn’t that make us want to rework our usual grasp of risk and reward and of duty and delight? In fact, I think these verses provide us with a helpful guide in how we are to make decisions. Do we make decisions merely based on the bottom line or on what’s going to make the most practical sense? You know we live in a world of data. We live in a world of analytics. And it would be easy to make decisions based on what’s most efficient, based on what’s going to make the most money. And technology has given us access to so many possibilities, but you know what? Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean that it’s best. And Amaziah had access to the men of Israel, he had the means to pay them, but that was not the will of God for him and it was not the way of loyalty and faithfulness to the Lord. Taking a loss financially was more important than being at odds with the Word of God.
And so what are the factors that are most important in making decisions? Well first, Amaziah should have sought the Lord before making any of his plans. If he had gone to the man of God, if he had gone to the prophet before hiring the men of Israel, he would have spared himself the loss of the 100 talents of silver and he would have spared himself the embarrassment or the anger that the men of Israel formed against him; something that we read on further in this passage it came back to haunt Amaziah. There’s a blessing to be found in our decision making in searching God’s Word, in seeking Him by prayer, and yes even going to godly, wise counsel before we make our decisions. And then, in light of those things, the best decisions are those that are faithful to God and to His call in our lives. Again, that may mean taking less money. It may mean not being as successful. It may mean looking foolish to some of our peers. But what is it to be faithful to God in our callings and to our families, for our own souls, for the kingdom of God?
You know, I’ve been encouraged lately by talking to several young professionals, young graduate students, and to hear of their desire to use their gifts, to use their training and to use their time for ministry purposes within their calling. And that’s encouraging to hear that desire from the young people in our congregation. You know that may put them at a disadvantage when promotion time comes, and that may mean giving up an extra “zero” at the end of their savings account. But you know what? “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” And what that says to us, not only seeking God and seeking to be faithful to Him, but then what we find in these verses is an encouragement to go and to do in faith and trust in God. When we seek the Lord and we seek to be faithful to Him as our top priority, then we can make our decisions and go forward, trusting in Him to provide. “Go, act, be strong,” were the words of the prophet to Amaziah. “The Lord is with you. God has the power to help or to cast down. He is able to provide with an abundance of riches.” You see, these verses are an encouragement for us not to trust in our own decisions, not to trust in our own abilities, but to trust in the Lord and to look to His great goodness, kindness and blessing. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”
So how do these verses end? Verse 10 says that Amaziah listened to the man of God and he discharged the army that had come from Israel. They were not happy about it. Amaziah went on to win the battle against the people of Seir, but his tendencies toward half-hearted devotion would reappear over and over in his life and sow seeds of trouble for him. And ours will too. Our tendencies to half-hearted devotion will show up again in our own lives. And that’s why we need the Lord to provide much more than we could ever offer to Him, much more than the weak efforts of our hearts, much more than the coldness of our warmest thoughts. Second Chronicles 25:2 says, “Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.” But Hebrews chapter 7 says that Jesus was holy, unstained, innocent, separated from sinners and exalted. Christ is faithful over God’s house as a Son. He is the better King. He is the better Son of David. And He was obedient to the point of death, obedient to the point of death on the cross, because there is no half-heartedness with Jesus.
And whatever of Amaziah we find in our own hearts and in our own lives, the answer is not for us to work harder to get it all together and to do better. The answer is to hear the message that the prophet said to Amaziah. And that is that “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.” And He has. He has. In the cross and resurrection of Jesus, He has given His own Son to pay the penalty for our sins. He has given His own Son to represent us before Him in perfect obedience and righteousness so that we stand before God forgiven and accepted forever if we would only receive Him by faith. And what does Paul says in Romans chapter 8? “He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?” All things. Do you believe that? Do you trust His promises? If you do, then that changes everything for how we crunch the numbers. That changes everything for how we do the accounting. And what things were gain to us, these become loss for the sake of knowing Christ and being found in Him. Peter said to Jesus one day, he said, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” What did Jesus say? “Truly I say to you, everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for My namesake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” You see, He is worth following wholeheartedly at whatever cost. “What about the 100 talents of silver?” “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.”
Let’s pray.
Our Father, we give You thanks for the promises of Your Word and for the reminders and encouragements to faithfulness in light of Your great love to us in Christ Jesus. We thank You for the love with which You loved us, for Your great mercy and kindness in making us Yours. And so we ask that You would help us to live out of the freedom and the blessing of being Yours and being Yours forever and knowing the blessings that You have in store for us. Help us to serve You with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength for Your glory and for the good of Your name. We pray all of this in Jesus’ name, amen.